DIVERSION OF THE WATERS OF THE NORTH PLATTE RIVER AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE SARATOGA RECLAMATION PROJECT

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 1928

UNITED STATES SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON IRRIGATION AND RECLAMATION,

Washington, D. C.

The committee met, pursuant to call, at 1 o'clock p. m. in the room of the Senate Committee on Commerce, United States Capitol, Senator Lawrence C. Phipps presiding.

Present: Senators Phipps (chairman), McNary, Johnson, Sheppard, Walsh of Montana, Kendrick, Pittman, Dill, and Ashurst.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. We will take up hearings on S. 1135, a bill to provide for the storage for diversion of the waters of the North Platte River and construction of the Saratoga reclamation project.

(The bill referred to is here printed in full, as follows:)

[S. 1135, Seventieth Congress, first session]

A BILL To provide for the storage for diversion of the waters of the North Platte River and construction of the Saratoga reclamation project

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That for the purpose of conserving the flood waters and storing and diverting the flood waters of the North Platte River and its tributaries, and controlling the floods therein, providing storage and diversion of water for irrigation and other beneficial uses, the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and empowered to construct a storage for diversion dam and all necessary incidental works upon the North Platte River, in Carbon County, Wyoming, providing a reservoir for the storage and diversion of said river, which shall be located at such point on said river as will store for diversion the waters of said river, adequate for the purposes aforesaid, and to acquire by proceedings in eminent domain or otherwise all lands and rights of way necessary for the said reservoir and incidental works.

Also to construct a main canal and such other canals and appurtenant structures as may be required for the delivery of water from said reservoir and said river to lands in Carbon County, in the State of Wyoming, in the North Platte River Basin, as the same have been surveyed and investigated by the United States Reclamation Service, for the irrigation and reclamation thereof, and to acquire by proceedings in eminent domain, or otherwise, all rights of way necessary for such canals and appurtenant structures: Provided, however, That no expenditures for the construction of a dam and reservoir, rights of way, canals, and appurtenant structures hereunder shall be made until the lands to be irrigated thereby shall have first been legally obligated to pay their proper portion, as may be determined by the Secretary of the Interior, of the total cost thereof to the United States, in accordance with the act of Congress approved June 17, 1902, entitled "An act appropriating the receipts from the sale and disposal of public lands in certain States and Territories to the construction of irrigation, amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto, hereinafter referred to as the reclamation law.

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SEC. 2. That the cost of the construction of said storage and diversion dam or incidental works, acquisition of lands or rights of way for reservoir and incidental works and irrigation canals and appurtenant structures which may be constructed hereunder shall be charged equitably against such lands, in accordance with the benefits they derive therefrom as may be, under the reclamation law, determined by the Secretary of the Interior and paid by the holders of the water rights on said lands and of said lands which payments shall be returned into the reclamation fund. The title to said dam and incidental works and reservoir site shall forever remain in the United States, unless Congress shall hereafter otherwise provide.

SEC. 3. That all lands found by the Secretary of the Interior to be practicable of irrigation and reclamation by the irrigation works authorized by the terms of this act shall be withdrawn from public entry. Thereafter, when such works shall have been so far constructed as to permit the delivery of water to any portion of such withdrawn lands, which the Secretary of the Interior shall deem proper to open for entry, such portion of said lands shall be open to entry in tracts varying in size, but not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres, as may be determined by the Secretary of the Interior, in accordance with the provisions of the reclamation law; and any such entrymen shall pay the proportionate share, as determined by the said Secretary, of the construction cost of the dam, reservoir, and incidental works, reservoir site, rights of way, canal or canals, and appurtenant structures constructed for the irrigation and reclamation of said lands, as provided for by this act, such construction costs to be paid in such installments and at such times as may be specified by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the provisions of the said reclamation law.

SEC. 4. That no part of any sum provided for herein shall be expended for construction on account of any lands in private ownership until all areas of land irrigable under the project and owned by any individual in excess of one hundred and sixty irrigable acres shall have been conveyed in fee to the United States free of encumbrance to again become a part of the public domain, under a contract between the United States and the individual owner, providing the value as shown by said appraisal of the land so conveyed to the United States shall be credited in reduction of the construction charge thereafter to be assessed against the land retained by such owner; and lands so conveyed to the United States shall be subject to disposition by the Secretary of the Interior in farm units at the appraised price, upon such terms and conditions as he may prescribe.

SEC. 5. That for the purpose of constructing said dam, reservoir, and incidental works, canals, and appurtenant structures and acquiring rights of way and lands therefor, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, from any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such amounts as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this act, not exceeding in the aggregate the sum of $500,000, to be appropriated from time to time upon estimates made by the Secretary of the Interior and transferred to the reclamation fund established under said reclamation law.

SEC. 6. The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to perform any and all acts and to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this act into full force and effect; and the money hereby authorized to be appropriated shall be available for the acquiring of necessary right of way by purchase or judicial proceed ngs and for other purposes necessary in successfully prosecuting the work to construct and complete the project.

The CHAIRMAN. I understand that the bill is in customary form covering irrigation projects, and there is nothing unusual in it.

Senator KENDRICK. There is nothing unusual in it, Mr. Chairman; and in all probability, with the present attitude of the Reclamation Department and, I may say, of the administration, it might properly be given support under ordinary circumstances, but in this particular case the conditions are not of the ordinary kind. First, the project has been considered for a number of years as entirely feasible, as shown by careful examinations, I believe, by the Reclamation Service. Is not that the fact, Governor?

Governor EMERSON. In cooperation with the State; yes.

Senator KENDRICK. And, second, it is a small project, 38,200 acres, and it is wonderfully situated from the standpoint of transportation facilities at the present time. The cost of it per acre is more moderate than nearly any of the projects that are proposed-in fact, about half the ordinary estimates of the present day. I had supposed that it was $71 or $72, but one of our witnesses has explained to me that it is $67 an acre.

The CHAIRMAN. Pardon me; but with 38,000 acres you are asking for an approval of a $500,000 project which would run $132 an acre. Governor EMERSON. I think the decimal point must be wrong. The estimated cost is about two million and a half.

Senator KENDRICK. I will say this for the chairman, that he is generally more accurate in his figures.

In addition to the natural merits of the proposition, we have a peculiar situation that, if the committee will bear with me just a minute, I will endeavor to make definitely plain.

Some years ago when we had prospects of a great mining venture at the foot of the Rocky Mountains a railway was built from a point called Walcott, which is near where the Union Pacific Railroad crosses the North Platte River; and as a result of that mining venture, largely, and other developments, there was built a railway line from the Union Pacific, a standard-gauge railway, to the foot of the mountains at a place called Encampment, and coincidentally with the development of that mining camp there was a development of ranch and farming interests to the extent of a settlement of perhaps 2,000 people, right under the shadow of the Rocky Mountains in the North Platte Valley.

It is beautiful country. There are beautiful farms and ranches, and largely in between this settlement and the railroad lies this project that we are speaking of.

The actual business of the railroad under the present situation of development does not afford sufficient revenue to keep that road going, and we are at the present time between two fires. We must either increase our development or we must lose transportation facilities for those 2,000 people. The road has been ordered abandoned by the Interstate Commerce Commission. We are about to lose it. It we succeed in initiating this project the Union Pacific will take that road over and it may agree to operate it in perpetuity. So you can see that we are in need of this particular development.

It is also true that it has been proved by settlement and development and cultivation of the soil adjoining and contiguous, so that we are not asking the consideration of a project that is in any way an experiment. There is no question about its merit and its desirability and its feasibility, but there is the question of proceeding at this time under the present plan, which is in a sense a wise one, but I do not believe it would be wise now or hereafter to follow it arbitrarily.

That is to say, here is a project that ought to be taken care of in order to save money that is already there and which is to be lost if we do not take care of it. In addition, it is just as true that the development will be less expensive now than it will if we lose that railroad.

That represents about all that I care to say at this time. Governor Emerson inay want to say a word here or may want to offer some

testimony after our witness, Mr. Healey, has concluded his statement. Governor EMERSON. Maybe it would be better for Mr. Healey to present his testimony first, and then I will follow.

Senator KENDRICK. Other than the Governor, Mr. Healey is the only witness that appears. We had expected another witness, but it seems that he has not shown up.

Senator MCNARY. Your statement is very clear and covers the subject matter, I think, about as thoroughly as if you had a hundred witnesses here.

Senator KENDRICK. Thank you, Senator. My statement is true, in every word, but a great deal more could be said.

The CHAIRMAN. I was going to say that I am reasonably familiar with the location and contour of the country and the course of the North Platte through that section, having driven through Saratoga to the mountains before the road was constructed to Encampment. I have been there at least three different times and have occasion to remember it, because we left the Union Pacific train at Walcott about 2.30 in the morning, drove to Saratoga for breakfast, and then To Saratoga it is about 25 miles, and then we drove an additional 25 miles to the Tilton ranch at the mouth of Brush Creek. The committee will be very glad to hear from Mr. Healey.

on.

Senator KENDRICK. Nothing would go further toward strengthening our case than to have a member of the committee corroborate what has been said and who has visited the location and knows that it is an attractive section of the country.

The CHAIRMAN. You notice that I did not say anything about the character of the land.

Senator KENDRICK. No; and you did not say anything about the division of the water at this time.

Senator MCNARY. The acre cost is strikingly low, if that be a reliable estimate.

Senator KENDRICK. The Commissioner of Reclamation and, I believe, the Secretary of the Interior, have been out to this place and gone over it time after time. It is a really dependable project from any viewpoint whatever.

STATEMENT OF F. H. HEALEY, SARATOGA, WYO.

The CHAIRMAN. Give the reporter your full name, address, and business.

Mr. HEALEY. F. H. Healey; Saratoga, Wyo.

The CHAIRMAN. What is your occupation?

Mr. HEALEY. I am in the banking business at Saratoga; also in the livestock business.

The CHAIRMAN. You may proceed with your statement.

Mr. HEALEY. I have come quite a distance to have the privilege of speaking to you gentlemen. I drove through. My main reason for driving through was to get a comparison of the country all the way through. I used to live here in Washington, D. C. I was raised here. I think I got a pretty good idea of conditions through the country. Not only that, but I lived in the Mississippi Valley, in Missouri, for several years, and I feel that we have a very favorable agricultural locality in Wyoming and in the Saratoga Valley,

and I am especially pleased to know that the Senator has been there and has taken that stage drive in the old days. He will have some sympathy for us in trying to save our railroad.

The Saratoga project is the cheapest project on record, the cheapest proposed project.

Senator MCNARY. Who made the estimate of $67 per acre?

Mr. HEALEY. The Government and State engineers.

Senator MCNARY. When was the survey and report made?

Mr. HEALEY. In 1921. The report is of July 25, 1922.

Senator McNARY. It is based on costs in 1921?

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Mr. HEALEY. Costs of doing work in 1921; yes. That is one thing I wanted to mention, that the costs of that kind of work, equipment for removing dirt, are reduced considerably, and also cement work since that time.

The CHAIRMAN. That is rather a lengthy statement which you have. I would not care to incorporate it into the record. Have you extra copies of that which you could file with the clerk for the use of members of the committee?

Mr. HEALE. I can make copies. I was not going to read this.

Senator KENDRICK. Just take up, if you please, the different points and proceed with them without hesitation. We will understand you; there will be no trouble about that, and it will not be necessary to incorporate the entire statement in the record after you give us the main points in your statement.

Mr. HEALEY. I referred to it just to give you the date of the

survey.

The Saratoga project requires, first of all, no reservoir. The stream flow more than takes care of the project at all times in the year without depriving anyone lower down of water.

The CHAIRMAN. Where is the diversion point located with respect to Saratoga?

Mr. HEALEY. About 10 miles above Saratoga and about 5 miles below the Tilton ranch that you spoke of.

Senator MCNARY. Do you take the water from the direct flow of the stream, or do you impound it?

Mr. HEALEY. From the direct flow of the stream. We do not need to impound any. It merely requires a 5-foot dam across the Platte River. The ditch covers good land, productive land, almost from the point of diversion. There is no long ditch in order to get to the land. The soil analysis shows that the land is of excellent fertility and can raise anything that grows in that territory.

Senator MCNARY. What is your altitude?

Mr. HEALEY. The altitude is from 6,600 to 6,900 feet, in the project.

Senator MCNARY. Do you have a comparatively short growing period?

Mr. HEALEY. No; we have a growing period of about four months. Senator KENDRICK. In fact, if I may suggest, I would like to have the witness explain that all the products that it is proposed to grow there are now grown on neighboring land.

Mr. HEALEY. We raise in this valley at this time wheat, oats, barley, rye, native hay, timothy, clover, alfalfa, potatoes, and sugar beets. Sugar beets have never been grown in large quantities for commercial purposes, for the simple reason that there were no